


Tender Morsels

by ashenpages



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Also be on the look out for some good old-fashioned Han Solo references, Blow Jobs, Established Relationship, Fluff, Food Porn, Leia lives and Chewie's teaching Ben to cook, M/M, beware of the brand of aphrodisiac coffee Ben has found though, but the old-school Jedi certainly wouldn't approve, force mind linking, not sure if this qualifies as misuse of the force, post TROS with some very much needed edits to canon, this is basically just date night in the aftermath of everything going right
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 10:41:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27969248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashenpages/pseuds/ashenpages
Summary: Life is different working for the Resistance in the shadow of the First Order's downfall.But even Hux wasn't ready for Ben Solo to make him dinner.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo, Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 8
Kudos: 41





	Tender Morsels

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this back in February of 2020, and am rewarding myself for a successful NaNoWriMo by finally editing and uploading.
> 
> This is kind of a follow up to the other fic I wrote back at the beginning of the year, [Death is Just the Beginning. ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27855590)
> 
> [Here's the playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6eS52zXOVr76BBFUZPSi6R) I made for myself when I was first writing this, in case you'd like to give it a listen while you're reading.
> 
> Since this is an established relationship with no other partners, the boys aren't using protection. Don't be like them.
> 
> Also, check out [Sexplanations](https://www.youtube.com/user/sexplanations) on YouTube for how to have safe sex without control of the Force.
> 
> Thanks and enjoy!

“What… is this?”

Hux stood in the entrance of his and Ren’s—no, it was Ben now—his and Ben’s tent in what remained of the Resistance camp on Ajan Kloss.

In the weeks since the victory at Exogul, Resistance members had left to help rebuild in different corners of the galaxy. As members of special interest—or, in less polite terms, probationary members that the Resistance still wasn’t sure they could trust—both Hux and Ben were still working under the Generals at what remained their head of operations on Ajan Kloss.

Hux had gotten as used to their camp on the Jungle moon as he was likely to, and while sharing quarters with Ben certainly made it easier for them to indulge in the activities of their newfound relationship together, it had meant adjusting to things about his living quarters suddenly changing without his consent.

The installation of a large roughhewn wooden table and two wooden chairs that seemed to be held together with palm fronts for example.

Ben looked up from where he was seated in one of them. He was… carefully arranging fruit on top of a bowl of… yogurt?

Hux let go of the tent flap and moved into the room to lean on the table, lest he pull the tent down with the support he required to process what was happening in his temporary home. His eyes worked their way over the table slowly, taking in item after item. Then the smell of them reached his nose. “Oh…” he said, closing his eyes.

He heard Ben hum that monosyllabic laugh of his that meant he was amused. Lately it had had a lighter lilt to it, and today it sounded lighter than ever. “If you like the way it all smells, just wait until you taste it.”

Hux opened his eyes and pulled one of the dishes that littered the table closer. Ben reached out and slapped Hux’s fingers away lightly. “Not yet. You have to go in order.”

“There’s an order to this?”

Ben colored slightly and rubbed his hands on a scrap of cloth tucked into his belt that Hux could only describe as a dishcloth.

It was strange enough to see Ben in a color other than black—clad in clothes that had probably belonged to his father, found in a locker on the falcon. Cream, navy, brown… He looked softer in colors like that. Less tortured and pallid. More human and real. Hux imagined he looked softer himself, clad in white shirt, tan vest, and green trousers every Resistance member seemed to have access to. But to find Ben cooking on top of it made Hux question if this were really happening or if he was still tucked up against that broad chest dreaming.

“How did you even make all this?” Hux said, waving his hand over the table. It was covered in dishes, all filled with food. At least three different cups stood in front of each chair as well. “And why? We’ve still got—”

“You’ve got to stop eating those ration bars,” Ben interrupted. “We’re not in the First Order anymore where all they had was artificial nutrition calorie supplements and synthetic stimulants. Those ration bars are meant for space travel anyway, and… Chewie’s been teaching me to cook.”

Hux shut his mouth and blinked slowly at Ben. The relationship between Ben and his late father’s partner had been… tenuous at best for a long time.

He moved closer to Ben and touched the other man’s side. He felt Ben lean into the touch, making Hux’s hand slide more substantially against him. “Has he forgiven you?” Hux murmured.

Ben shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t know if he’ll ever forgive me, exactly. He knows I was used—that we both were, and I think he’s forgiven me for that. But I think part of that is making sure it never happens to me again?” Ben shrugged. “I don’t know. He gave me these clothes, and he’s been teaching me to cook. I don’t want to push him away, and…” Ben looked at Hux, flushed, and then looked away quickly. “Well, uh… He says even if it’s not quite the same with you and me the way it was with him and my dad, he says the way to a man’s heart is his through his stomach.”

“Yes, and then up under the ribs.” Hux smirked. “You already knew that, we both had training.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

Hux smirked and leaned looped his arms around Ben’s neck, bringing the other man close and flush against him. “Ben Solo, are you learning to cook so you can woo me?”

Ben settled his hands around Hux’s waist and gave him one of those heavy, soul-searching looks Hux had come to quiver under. “They didn’t give me much of a chance to do anything like woo you in the First Order,” he said softly. He lowered his forehead to rest against Hux’s. “Figure I better take my chance.”

Hux tilted his head and stole a quick kiss. “Still. Cooking. That’s a bit extreme. I would have been happy with flowers and chocolates.”

Ben hummed his laugh. “No. You need to get used to real food. Anyway, Chewie says this a prime place to learn. He says this place reminds him of his own homeworld, Kashyyyk. It’s tropical, like this place. He says even if it’s not exactly the same, all the same principles still apply.”

Hux glanced back to the table. “And you made all of this with cross-applied principles?”

Ben hummed his laugh again. “And a lot of tree climbing, yeah.”

Hux cast his eye over the spread again and noted the amount of fruit. “I see.”

Hux gasped as Ben nibbled his ear.

“You wanna try some of it?” Ben’s breath was warm against the side of Hux’s neck.

Hux turned his head and caught Ben’s lips with his own. He gave the other man’s lower lip a chastising bite when he relinquished the kiss. “I would have started already if you’d tell me where to begin with this silly order of yours.”

Ben smiled and guided Hux to one of the chairs.

Hux didn’t miss the way Ben licked his lips as he took his own seat. Hux chuckled to himself and slid his hand over Ben’s, holding his wrist loosely and leaning towards the bigger man. “Are you looking forward to the meal, or me eating it?”

Ben swallowed. “Both,” he said, his eyes darting away as he selected a plate and placed it between them. “Let’s start with this one, before it gets cold.”

Hux inspected the dish. While his diet with the First Order had consisted mostly of pre-packaged, unpalatable, nutrient-and-caffeine-filled nonsense, his mother had fed him her cooking while he had been with her on Arkanis. It had been so long ago now, but it was enough of a culinary education to recognize things, even if he hadn’t eaten them in an age. A cut of red meat sat in the center of the plate. Three generous slices of fruit that must have been cooked lay plated across the top of the meat, and a grilled green coniferous sprig of some herb or other lay over them. A brown sauce pooled at the base of the meat, probably the combined result of whatever Ben had cooked all of his ingredient in and the juices each ingredient had given off during the cooking. A delicate, layered fragrance reached Hux’s nose. He closed his eyes and inhaled. When he opened them, he saw Ben’s eyes flick away from his mouth.

Ben withdrew his hand from under Hux’s and picked up a fork, and a knife that was clearly meant for more than serving at a table. He removed the herb from on top, placing it gently to the side of the plate. Then he cut the meat down the center and Hux saw the inside was tinged a rich shade of pink.

“You haven’t finished cooking it,” Hux said.

Ben shook his head and cut a bite sized piece off of the meat, making sure the fork speared a bite of the fruit as well. “No, trust me, it’s better this way. I said the same thing the first time Chewie took me through this recipe, but after the fit he threw when I ruined the first batch, I’m a convert.” He held the bite out for Hux and waited.

Hux eyed the meat warily.

Ben waggled the fork gently. “You’re really going to leave me hanging?”

Hux broke off his staring match with the meat to meet Ben’s eyes instead. The larger man had always had such expressive eyes. Today they were soft; hopeful, with a touch of nerves. Ben let Hux watch him, fork still extended. His eyes dipped to Hux’s mouth, back up, and then right back down as Hux leaned forward and slowly slotted his mouth around the bite.

Hux should have been focusing on the meat. Instead he was focused on the minuscule way Ben was biting his lip.

Then the flavor exploded on his tongue as he chewed, and he couldn’t concentrate on anything else.

Hux moaned and went slack, the muscles in his arm on the table flexing as they suddenly took on all of his weight.

A ragged, audible breath slipped from Ben’s mouth, and a warm hand pressed against Hux’s cheek. “Fuck, I knew it would taste good for you, but…” Whatever Ren was going to say was lost in an intelligible string of vowels as Ren pressed closer, the bridge of his nose crossing Hux’s cheekbone and his forehead resting against Hux’s temple.

Hux made another weak sound. Ben was in his head. Of course he was. Those silly Force powers of his were like breathing for him; just part of his existence. Hux should be used to the man piggybacking his experiences by now, given the way their sex life went—both the exciting bits and the bits ruined by inconvenient timing on Ben and Rey’s dyad bond. Graceful as Rey was about accidentally intruding on the sex life of someone who she considered family these days, having a partner like Ben still required some getting used to.

Ben being undone by food in Hux’s mouth was certainly a new aspect of it all.

Hux swallowed the glorious bite. “What…” He panted, trying to get his breath back, his hand tangling in Ben’s hair, desperate for closeness and answers. “What was _in_ that?”

Ben hummed, like he was trying to remember. Hux could relate. If Ben was having to push through the same luscious haze Hux was, thinking would be hard right now. “Ribeye cut of some shaggy hooved goats that climb trees and cliff faces like they’ve got stairs carved into them, center flesh of fruit with a toxic peal that grows on top of a huge climbing cactus, aromatic herb that didn’t fight being harvested, and some red fruit wine Chewie let me barter for instead of make, given the fermentation time required.”

Ben pulled his hand away and Hux heard the pop of a cork and the gurgle of fluid splashing into one of his cups. “Want to try some of it by itself?”

The bottle thunked back to the table and Hux chuckled. “I don’t know,” he said, flirting with Ben’s lips. “Is the sharp bite of it on my tongue going to destroy you?”

Ben groaned and captured Hux’s mouth with his own. Hux darted his tongue against Ben’s, and Ben sighed into the kiss. He caught Hux’s tongue and sucked on it for a moment, as if he could still taste the morsel he’d fed him on it. “It might,” he said, when he finally pulled away. He traced Hux’s bottom lip with his thumb. “It’s just different in your mouth. More… intense. You’ve been eating the same thing for so long.”

Hux scoffed. “You ate the same things I did at the First Order.”

Ben hummed a moderate ascent. “But I wasn’t with them for as long. And, when I was with them, I ate a lot of weird things on strange planets—things people probably shouldn’t eat sometimes. ‘Force trickery’ sure is handy when you need to eat but everything’s poison… I ate well with my family. I was born on Chandrila—”

“Yes, I know, Ben. I’ve read your file.”

Ben laughed through his nose and nuzzled Hux gently. “That’s so rude of you.”

“You like it.”

“Well, if you read the file, you know Chandrila was part of the Core Worlds, and the place the New Republic was founded. Meaning…?”

“Meaning you had plenty of people from plenty of places, all wanting a taste of home,” Hux supplied.

Ben kissed his cheek. “Good boy.”

“And, given Chandrila’s rolling hills and seasonal climate, I imagine all sorts of things were viably farmed there.”

Ben nodded. “It was easy to eat there, yeah. Convenient, given how busy my parents were. When we had home cooking, it was usually Chewie who did it. You should see the hand grooming he does beforehand to keep hair from getting in the food.” Ben gave a content sigh. “Anyway, it’s nice to eat Chewie’s cooking again, and the new ingredients are exciting, but I’ve made this meal a few times now getting it ready. It’s not a discovery for me anymore the way it is for you.”

Hux gave Ben a teasing frown. “I’m not sure if that’s something I should be flattered or insulted to hear.”

Ben nipped Hux’s lower lip gently. “Be whichever gets you to take a sip of that wine.”

Hux smirked and reached for the glass, turning his head to see it so he wouldn’t spill. Ben dipped his head to press a warm kiss to the hollow behind Hux’s jaw. His hands slid down over Hux’s body and then away as Hux brought the cup to his lips.

“Ready?” Hux whispered.

Ben shook his head, his hands working to cut another mouthful of meat on the plate. “No, but take a sip anyway.”

Hux smirked and obliged.

Tart, bright flavor washed over his tongue.

Ben’s knife clattered against the plate.

Hux inhaled shakily through his mouth. The flavor evolved, the fruity fumes of the wine oxidizing and floating up through his nostrils. He let out a yelp as Ben grabbed him solidly by the jaw. His eyes flew open as he was pulled forward, in time to see the bite of meat and grilled fruit Ben was holding out. He took it in his mouth instinctively, and the flavor instantly changed. It was more than the wine or the meat had been on their own; a pairing.

Hux fell forward into Ben’s arms with the intensity of it, a weak whimper dropping from his mouth through the dregs of wine and bits of food in his mouth.

Ben’s chest heaved under Hux with a big breath—in and out. “Stars…” he swore, his voice little more than a whisper. He stroked Hux’s hair and back, wrapping him up in a loose hug, nearly pulling Hux out of his chair and into his lap. He nuzzled Hux’s temple and then gave him a gentle command. “Chew.”

It took Hux a moment to realize he’d only bitten down once and since had been rolling the food over his tongue instead of continuing to chew. Quickly, he maneuvered it between his teeth and bit down. He made an appreciative noise as juice and flavor spilled anew out of the food. He had barely swallowed before Ben had another bite ready for him. Then another, then more wine. Hux felt like he was in a daze. No one had ever fed him like this. And it was so flavorful, so rich. So absolutely decadent.

He pushed the next bite away, gasping, trying to catch his breath and recover his bearings.

“It’s the last bite,” Ben said. The way he said it, his voice made the statement sound like a plea.

Hux took the fork by neck and guided the final bite into his mouth. Then he rose and slotted his mouth against Ben’s. The other man’s lips were moist and open, his tongue barely contained behind them—as if Ben had barely been holding himself back sucking the flavor off Hux’s tongue again. It didn’t take much work to push to the decadent mouthful between them. Hux pulled away as Ben chewed, letting his hands trace the man’s working jaw and fall over the graceful lines of his neck.

Ben hummed as he swallowed and stroked the length of Hux’s shoulders. He finished the wine in Hux’s cup and then let out a contented sigh. “Been getting all the taste off you. Forgot I hadn’t had any yet myself.”

“Happy to help,” Hux said, still feeling breathless. “Give me a moment before the next dish. I need…”

Dishes clinked as Ben moved the now empty plate away and exchanged it for a small bowl. “A palate cleanser?”

Hux flicked his eyes up to give Ben a soft version of a glare. “I was going to say ‘a breather,’ but I can see that’s not on the agenda.”

Ben hummed a longer laugh than normal, and scooped a small spoonful of what looked to be green ice crystals up with a spoon. A clean, refreshing, citrus taste spread over Hux’s tongue as the cold sorbet melted. Savoring the sensation, he breathed in through his nose. The cool feeling went down his throat with his breath.

Ben let out a breath of his own, his head tipping back and his eyes sliding shut. “Armie…” he whimpered. Then he took the other man by the shoulders and shook him gently. “Have you never had a fucking mint in your life?!”

Hux raised a perplexed eyebrow. “Is that what that clean fresh taste is? Mint?”

Ben groaned and curled in against Hux’s shoulder. “You’re killing me.”

Hux grinned and nipped Ben’s ear. “No, that was before. You’d know if I was trying to kill you.”

“Metaphorically. You’re killing me metaphorically.”

Hux hummed smugly and ran his lips over the arch of Ben’s neck. “Never tasted mint quite like that, hm?” He reached for the bowl and spoon that Ben had abandoned on the table and slipped another bite of the refreshing, cool sorbet into his mouth. “Tell me about this one,” he said, pressing his chilled lips to the shell of Ben’s ear, and then licking it for good measure.

Ben shivered like he’d been chilled from the inside.

It was fun learning to use this psychic link to his advantage, Hux thought.

“Mint leaves and citrus. Pulverized, then cooked with some water and sugar until the sugar dissolved.” Ben took a breath and pushed a hand through his hair, giving it a small semblance of order again. He straightened and leaned back in his chair. “Chewie has a machine we put it through after that, with some ice and salt and stuff.” He leaned forward as Hux spooned up another mouthful. Hux smiled and held it out for him. Ben’s lips closed around it and it was clean when he pulled away. Hux licked the spoon again anyway, watching the way Ben’s eyes tracked his tongue.

Ben dragged his eyes away when he noticed Hux watching him. He swallowed, and gestured to the little bowl in Hux’s hand. “It comes out like that, and then you just have to keep it cold.”

“Mm, hard to keep anything cold with you around.” Hux pressed the cold bowl to Ben’s exposed neck, making the other man gasp. Hux smirked and let his eyelids fall to half-mast to give his next line more edge as Ben’s eyes jumped up to his.

“That’s it,” Ben said, confiscating the bowl and spoon. He popped one more mouthful into Hux’s mouth before filching the last one off himself. “Moving on.” He set the bowl aside and pulled the bowl Hux had seen him arranging fruit on top of at the beginning towards them.

Hux eyed the bowl curiously. “Is the fruit from the steak in here too?”

“Mhm.” Ben picked up a cube of red fruit, freckled with little black seeds. “It’s raw here, though.”

Hux pursed his lips. He knew that some vegetables and fruits could be tasty raw, but he wasn’t sure about this one. “You’re sure it isn’t poison when it not cooked or…?”

Ben snorted and popped the cube into his mouth. He chewed, swallowed, and then bowed theatrically at the waist. “I’ve eaten like ten of these getting this recipe up to Chewie’s standards.” He pinched Hux’s cheek and gave it a little shake. “Give me some credit.”

Hux laughed and batted him off. “Alright, fine. Tell me about all of your non-poisonous ingredients, then.”

Ben gestured to the top of the bowl. “Clearly, we have a variety of non-poisonous fruit.”

“Yes, alright, thank you. What about the rest of it.”

Ben chuckled and moved a couple piece of fruit with his fingers. Hux licked his lips. What he wouldn’t give to have Ben just feed him that with his fingers.

Ben swallowed and dipped his finger into the yogurt below. It came up white and purple where globs of yogurt and purple fruit flesh clung to it. He flicked his eyes shyly to Hux’s mouth and then held out his finger.

Hux had to remember not to think so loudly when Ben was nearby. He slid forward and wrapped his mouth around Ben’s finger.

The flavor was rich and creamy, with an acidity that cut through the cream to keep it from being too heavy. Hux hummed approvingly as he sucked the yogurt off of Ben’s finger. He kept sliding his tongue back over itself, the silky texture of the yogurt still foreign in his mouth.

“Remember those goats I mentioned earlier?” Ben said, picking up a spoon.

Hux nodded, not ready to open his mouth again.

“The natives have some tame ones. Don’t ask me how they did it, those things are quick.” Ben made a face. “And mean.”

Hux chuckled. “I take it the one you hunted was difficult to catch?”

Ben grumbled. “Hard enough to catch that the extra meat got me most of the ingredients I couldn’t make myself, like the yogurt in this dish. The locals take the milk from the goats and make all sorts of things with it. This yogurt is one of them. It’s pretty thick, and it’s kind of sour, but in a way that goes really well with these berries…” Ben picked a whole round purplish-blue berry up from on top of the bowl. Hux plucked it from between his fingers before Ben had time to continue. He crushed it with his tongue against the roof of his mouth. It had a clean, tart taste that made him almost want to wince. He watched as the corners of Ben’s winced for him, then swallowed and licked his lips.

Hux leaned forward and licked at Ben’s mouth too, for good measure.

A breathy sigh slipped from Ben’s mouth, and his eyes slid closed as he turned his head to better reach Hux’s lips.

Hux backed up as Ben leaned in, though, keeping the kiss a hair’s breadth away. “Do go on,” he murmured against Ben’s lips.

Ben hummed, his hand sliding down from where it had landed on Hux’s side and squeezing Hux’s hip gently. “Tease.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Hux murmured. He slid his teeth gently over Ben’s bottom lip. “I’m not the one who made a whole meal to place in my partner’s mouth piece by piece.”

Ben groaned and pressed forward again.

Hux kept their distance, grinning wickedly as Ben whined at him.

“Speaking of,” he said, tracing the handle of the spoon that still stuck in Ben’s other hand. “Weren’t you going to do something with this?”

Ben shifted and eyed the spoon. “I thought you wanted me to tell you about the berries.”

“Mm, yes.” Hux inhaled, taking in Ben’s scent. The cut fruit next to them was as fragrant as the musk of Ben’s hair. “The berries.”

“They grow on the palm trees around here,” Ben said. He dipped the spoon into the bowl and put together a large spoonful filled with yogurt, berry, and a sliver of each of the other fruits he’d placed on top of the bowl. “They’re so full of nutrients that they get more use than the other types of fruit here, even though they’re not as sweet. They’re loaded with antioxidants and potassium—all the things that keep you healthy and your muscles from aching after chasing goats around the jungle.”

Hux opened his mouth obediently as Ben held out the spoon.

So much fruit in one heaping spoonful… No amount of fruit like this would have grown on his rainy home of Arkansis.

He wondered if it would be sweet enough to kill him.

Ben huffed and shook his head. “Just because you haven’t used your taste buds in fifteen years doesn’t mean they can kill you.”

“Says the man moaning and groaning in my lap that I’m killing _him_ every time I take a bite.”

Ben shut his mouth with an audible click and shoved his spoon into Hux’s mouth.

Hux moaned for two reasons. First, when one’s lover shoves something into one’s mouth, it’s difficult for one to be left unaffected. Doubly so when that something has as deliciously silky a mouthfeel as the sour goat milk yogurt. Hux maneuvered his tongue around the spoon, but kept his mouth open. He watched as Ben’s eyes widened as he lapped the yogurt from the spoon, dislodging the differing consistencies of velvet and slick fruit with swirls of his tongue.

It took a small intake of breath from Ben for Hux to realize that the man had stopped breathing.

Hux couldn’t help but lower his eyelids in a smirk.

He must look exquisite.

Ben’s eyes flicked up to Hux’s smug ones, then away. He tried to retract the spoon, but Hux snatched his wrist to keep him in place. He jerked Ben forward just enough to get the man’s eyes back on him.

That’s right, eyes on me, Hux thought.

Ben shivered in Hux’s hand, but his eyes remained fixed on Hux’s mouth.

Finally, when the bowl of the spoon was empty, Hux closed his mouth around the utensil and slipped it—pristine and clean—from his mouth. Ben sighed like a tortured man as he set the spoon over the bowl. He returned his hands to Hux’s knees before resting his forehead against the other man’s. Hux knew they were both well aware that Hux had yet to actually bite into any of the fruit that had come in the mouthful Ben had fed him.

“Come on,” Ben coaxed, looking deep into Hux’s eyes and nuzzling his nose gently. “See if it kills us.”

Hux shifted the fruit in his mouth and bit down. His head tipped back as juice and flavor flooded his mouth.

Ben fell on Hux’s throat as soon as it was exposed, kissing over it and caressing it as cool, sweet juice ran down it from the inside.

It was so flavorful! And… _so wet._

“Juicy,” Ben murmured against Hux’s collarbone. “The word you’re looking for is ‘juicy.’”

Hux swallowed. “Fuck the words,” he said, running his hands through Ben’s hair. “Put more of it in my mouth.”

Ben raised himself with a large shaky breath and snatched another spoonful of yogurt and fruit.

Hux didn’t tease him this time.

This was a symphony of flavors that he didn’t want to wait to taste again.

He took the mouth greedily in his mouth and let the spoon slip out again just as quick.

Ah… It was so much better in tandem; silky smooth yogurt and plush velvety fruit, sweet and sour and creamy and light all at once.

Ben whined and leaned heavily against Hux as he chewed. Hux rubbed a comforting hand back and forth over Ben’s back. He hummed as it all slipped down his throat, nuzzling at Ben’s ear. “More?” he whispered, then nipped at Ben’s earlobe.

Ben sucked in a sharp breath that was much sharper than Hux felt the nip warranted—but it was enough to break Hux out of his sweet-filled stupor. Ben was mostly still, but what little of him moved quivered like energy of a blaster bolt caught by the Force.

Hux instantly shifted closer and took more of the larger man in his arms. He pressed them together firmly and tipped Ben’s face up to his. “Darling, you’re shaking.”

Ben nodded, his eyes squeezed closed. “It’s a lot.”

“Mm,” Hux hummed, mercy not keen on his mind. He took the spoon from Ben and refilled it himself. “But it could be more,” he said, before popping the next spoonful into his mouth.

Ben gasped and clung to him, his fingers clawing at Hux’s clothes, as ineffectual and cute as a newborn kitten.

In control of the spoon now, Hux took care to sample each of the fruits individually. The palm fruit was spread throughout the dish, but there were so many others: creamy coins of pale yellow fruit that Hux wondered the full shape of; plush purple and green polyps that reminded him of the scent and velvety texture of the flowers he used to find his mother for her kitchen table, but inverted; the cubes of red seed speckled fruit that were tart but fell away in grainy flecks when worked at with his tongue.

They were bliss, each a different flavor of it.

And Ben keened against him a different way for each of them. By the end of it, Hux was thumbing tears away from the edges of Ben’s eyes.

“Alright, darling?” Hux murmured, scooping up the last of the yogurt and fruit.

Ben nodded and reached a hand up. Hux leaned his cheek into it and then pressed a kiss to Ben’s palm. The hand came to rest in a caress against the side of Hux’s neck, and Ben smiled up at Hux through his tears. “I’m just happy I could share this with you…”

Hux had seen Ben cry a handful of times since the end of the war. Each time it had been something rightfully worth crying over. This time was no different—but it was certainly the happiest occasion so far.

Hux leaned down and kissed him.

“Share it with me now too,” he said, then offered Ben the final spoonful of the fruit.

Ben raised his head and fitted his mouth around the spoon.

Hux’s eyelashes fluttered as he felt his mind reshuffle itself. He hummed as he slid the spoon from Ben’s lips. “Going through my memory?” he whispered. He set the spoon down and brushed his lips over Ben’s as the memory of thick cream and moist fruit overcame him.

Ben chewed and swallowed, then claimed the kiss Hux was taunting him with. “It’s just better in your mouth, Armie.” He slid his tongue against Hux’s and kissed him while the taste of fruit swirled through their minds. They kissed until they were both shaking and their breath left them in heavy pants.

Hux didn’t know which he wanted more—to have never tasted fruit at all so the sensations they were sharing now were even more intense, or to have eaten like this every day of his life. The taste was so floral and aromatic. The feel of it such a symphony for the senses. Nothing like the processed utilitarian stuff he’d eaten when the First Order had ripped him from his mother.

But, oh… How his denial made Ben weak now.

Hux fitted himself even closer against Ben, trying not to break their kiss as he left his chair and climbed into Ben’s lap, straddling the other man.

Ben moaned luxuriously at the contact. His hands slipped under Hux’s shirt and ran over the warm skin of his back, made all the warmer by the paths Ben’s fingers traced. Hux ground down and Ben bucked up, the both of them stirring against each other in a lust that wasn’t just for food now, but for each other.

But Ben broke away. “There’s still more,” he said, breaking one of his hands out from under Hux’s shirt and gesturing back to the table.

Hux turned his head to eye the plate Ben indicated. It looked like the whole version of the cut inverted flowers that had bedecked the fruit-filled yogurt, but wrapped in thin strips of meat and then drizzles with some clear substance that glistened in the lamplight of the tent. Fluffy looking gobs of cheese sat across the plate from them, but close enough that there was no questions in Hux’s mind that the two things were meant to be eaten together.

He was torn.

He ran his hands over Ben’s chest thoughtfully. Ben huffed gently as Hux’s fingers dragged over his nipples, and he pressed a kiss to the side Hux’s neck.

“Will they keep if I ravish you first?” Hux asked.

Ben hummed in a way that wasn’t quite a yes. “The fruit will begin to wilt and the cheese should be eaten sooner rather than later. It’ll keep, just won’t be as good.”

Hux couldn’t have that.

“Not after all the trees you climbed for me, darling.” He reached for the plate and propped it up between them. He plucked one of the meat-wrapped fruits between his fingers, the clear sticky substance they were drizzled with forgotten until it was on his hand. He shook his head and sighed, then scooped up some of the cheese with his sullied fingers. “Open wide,” he said, moving the fruit towards Ben’s mouth.

Ben pulled back and shook his head. “You first.”

Hux gave Ben a sarcastic look. “You go rifling through my memories to make me relive that fruit bowl five times over, and you can’t indulge me to get you to project what something tastes like for you just once before stealing my sensory input to broadcast all over this tent?”

Ben’s breath hitched and his chin tipped up, receptive and willing. “You want to know what it tastes like for me?”

“No, I’m asking to see if you can do it,” Hux drawled, rolling his eyes. “Of course I want to know what it tastes like for you. You think you can just do these things and not make someone hungry with curiosity?” Hux pressed the fruit and cheese messily against Ben’s lips insistently. “Now; open wide.”

Ben’s eyes smoldered with intensity as he dropped his jaw and stuck out his tongue. The soft, dexterous flesh of it flickered over Hux’s finger, taking tiny kitten licks of the sticky drizzle and the cheese. Hux sucked in a breath as an echo of the taste hit him. The drizzle was sweet, but in a different way than the fruit. And the cheese was salty, with a bite. He got hints of the other ingredients too—the rich smoky scent of the meat, the smooth, catching velvet feel of the fruit beneath it, and…

Hux chuckled and brushed his nose against Ben’s as he stuck the fruit, cheese, and his fingers into Ben’s open mouth. Ben’s eyelashes dipped as Hux filled his mouth, but he didn’t pull back. Instead, he tipped his head up and opened his mouth wider, as if he were encouraging Hux to go even deeper.

“My fingers aren’t part of this dish,” Hux chided. He spread cheese over Ben’s tongue with his thumb.

Ben moaned and closed his mouth around Hux’s fingers. Leave it to him to argue without words. Hux decided not to argue either, gasping as Ben sucked at his fingers, cleaning the spread of the cheese and the sticky sweetness from them. His mouth was so soft and warm.

Ben clasped Hux’s wrist in his hand and drew back, slipping Hux’s clean fingers gently from his mouth. He looked at Hux through his lashes and chewed. Hux shuddered and went limp. He was grateful for the arm Ben kept around his back. It kept him from falling out of his chair now, as the sweet stickiness of the drizzle and the sharp tang of the cheese melded with the juicy texture of the fruit and the subtle saltiness of the meaty wrap. Even with his basic understanding of flavors, he never would have thought to pair salty with sweet.

Ben swallowed, and Hux started putting himself back together, only to be overwhelmed once again as Ben returned his mouth to Hux’s hand. Having Ben’s mouth and tongue on him was heady even in the least distracting of times. It was another sensation entirely when Ben was projecting the feeling of Hux’s fingers in his mouth back him. And it wasn’t even the full feeling or the taste of Hux’s skin that wrecked the ex-general… It was the desire and hunger for him that tinged all of Ben’s thoughts that brought Hux to his knees.

“Ben…” Hux whispered, threading the fingers of his free hand through Ben’s hair, and cradling the other man’s head. Ben’s love was so deep, so rich. Hux could feel it in what licking his fingers did to the other man. So pure, innocent in a way no one in the galaxy had ever thought Kylo Ren destroyer of worlds to be. It rolled off Ben in waves, inexorable and pervasive. Like water from a well so deep that you might never hit the bottom, and so cool and flavorful, you never wanted to stop drinking. Hux felt himself flushing, slow and warm—full of life and breath and food, and love of his own.

Ben hummed around Hux’s fingers, and relinquished them with a final lick. “All clean.” He kissed the tip of Hux’s index finger. “I know how you hate messes.”

Hux’s heart swelled so full he thought it might pop right there in his chest.

“True,” he said. He offered the plate to Ben and cocked a mischievous eyebrow. “They can be quite fun to make, though.” He didn’t offer Ben a utensil.

Ben grinned, sticking a finger into the cheese. He scooped it up against the side of one of the sweet vittles on the plate and then raised the entire mess up to Hux between his fingers. “Do you want me to make a mess of you?” he asked. His voice was soft and low—as comforting as it was dangerous.

“Quite the contrary.” Hux stuck out his tongue and took a neat lick of the cheese. Then he leered. “I think I’ll quite enjoy making a mess of you.”

Before Ben could respond, Hux took the entire mouthful into his mouth. He licked as Ben’s fingers as he did it, pulling a gasp from the other man. Then he bit into the morsel as quickly as he could. Even ready for it was he was, it was intoxicating. He could see why Ben had been so undone by the way things tasted for Hux when everything was so much sharper and clearer on his tongue. The soft familiar way flavors mingled for Ben was nothing in comparison. It was a like comparing a campfire to the core of a star.

Ben gasped raggedly, and his finger twitched in Hux’s mouth—and his hips moved too. Hux smiled wickedly by narrowing his eyes and sucked the messy food off Ben’s fingers. He pushed the bigger man and his hand away as he chewed. What he had planned next didn’t require the other man’s upper half in the slightest. He took a moment to get his bearings, making space on the floor by pushing his unoccupied chair out of the way. Then he stepped off Ben and lowered himself to the floor, sitting back on over his legs. As soon as he was settled, he put his hands on Ben’s knees and spread them wide.

Ben gulped, his eyes glued to Hux’s. “You’re going to ruin me from down there?”

Hux smirked and hummed keenly, the sound trilling through his throat with promising vibrations as he nuzzled the inside of one of Ben’s thighs.

Ben leaned against the back of his chair with a huff, then gestured to the plate still filled with food. “What about all this?”

“That’s the beauty of it, darling.” Hux ran his fingers up and down Ben’s thighs and stomach. He popped the button of Ben’s pants open on the first pass, dragged down the zipper on the second. Ben graced his ears graced with a bitten-back whine as Hux stroked over the hardening flesh beneath. “You have what it tastes like for me now, you can eat them, and we’ll both be able to enjoy how it would be if it were in my mouth. Besides, you’ve hardly eaten anything yourself.” Hux dragged Ben out of his pants and licked a long wet stipe up the underside of his erection. “And I think my appetites have changed…”

Ben caressed Hux’s temple, pushing a lock of Hux’s hair back into place. Then he smiled. It was like looking at a sunrise.

A shard of emotion stuck between Hux’s ribs and bled into his heart and lungs. He closed his eyes and pressed passionate kisses to Ben’s fingers, palm, and wrist.

Finally.

They were safe enough to smile.

“I’m going to eat you up,” he growled into the soft skin of Ben’s forearm.

Ben chuckled—a real, multi-syllable, fully enunciated thing. “Guess I better start eating then too. Wouldn’t want to deprive you of the—haaa… Aaahh…”

It didn’t matter what Ben had been about to say. They’d exchanged enough witty banter for a life time. It would have been something about not depriving Hux of the sweet to go with his salt, or perhaps even his first fruit cock-tail. Something like that. Something. Getting to hear Ben’s voice fall apart in surprise and pleasure was much better than whatever it could have been, Hux thought as he worked his mouth up and down Ben’s cock.

Ben missed the table entirely the first time he reached for their plate of food. He found the edge of it on his second try, and smeared his finger with the cheese on the third. Hux moaned as the salty taste of precum in his mouth suddenly changed and the new taste spread over his tongue while Ben sucked cheese off his fingers. The fruit was even sweeter when it burst in Ben’s mouth. Hux took Ben’s cock all the way to back of his throat, chasing the flavor and the feeling having all of this at once.

He’d thought he’d always have to choose.

He’d thought that happiness like this could only be fought for and consumed at the expense of others, not something he could create for himself. He’d thought that he’d have to take moments like this from the cooling fingers of fallen adversaries.

There was a time when he’d thought Ben _was_ one of those adversaries.

And now here he was, heart full of love gentler than the hum of a space station, belly full of food more flavorful than his dreams, and mouth full of the man he loved.

He’d never been so full in his life.

He hummed contentedly around Ben and took him even deeper. Ben swore, choked, and then swore again more breathily. Hux raised his hand to the other man’s throat and felt his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. Hux opened his eyes and flicked them up to watch Ben place the next piece of fruit in his mouth. He matched his pace to Ben’s, and watched the man come undone as he realized Hux was taking his cock down just as slowly as he was wrapping his tongue around his next bite.

_Can you feel it?_ Hux wondered. _How wonderful you feel in mouth?_

Ben’s mouth dropped open at once. He placed the fruit on his tongue, smearing cheese across it.

Hux couldn’t help but feel smug. That was a gesture that said yes.

Ben sucked on his fingers and Hux mimicked the gesture. They both moaned, and Hux couldn’t tell which sensation had set them off.

Stars, he needed more of this.

He buried his face against Ben, taking the other man in all the way to the root, and pressed his hand over his own swelling cock.

Ben’s hips stuttered when Hux brought the pressure down on himself, and Hux wondered not for the first time how difficult it was for Ben to isolate sensations through his silly Force mind reading when he was coming undone like this.

Hux undid his pants and hoped it was impossible.

Then next few moments were a blur of sensation—of startling sweetness, of both new and familiar tastes of salt, of skin and what Hux might imagine love tasted like if he were to give it a guess. It all swirled together and then exploded into a supernova of sensation. Flavor was caught up in feeling, and all Hux could do was swallow and drink Ben down, spilling on the floor himself.

There were certainly benefits to having a Force user as your partner.

For a moment, neither of them moved. They just sat, sagging against each other and the chair, breathing, Hux panting against Ben’s thigh and Ben’s head resting on the back of the chair. Ben hummed as Hux tucked him away inside his black cotton underwear, safe from the serrated zipper edges it was framed by. Black, Hux thought, reaching down to do himself the same service. His own underwear was black too. It was strange to see them both still in black now that the First Order was no more. In fact, he could easily say he never wanted to wear so much of the color ever again in his life. Maybe he’d see if he could pick them up some more exciting colors next time the Resistance had a textiles order filled. Ben might look fetching in a bright shade of blue, or with an elegant pattern of fish scales or triangles stretch across his hips. Hux was pulled from his thoughts as Ben’s body tensed. He yelped as he was hauled up into the other man’s lap, and laughed as Ben nuzzled his way into Hux’s neck. He stroked Ben’s hair out of his face and looked at the other man adoringly, feeling lazy and satisfied in a multitudes.

“Thank you,” he murmured.

Ben kissed his collarbone. “Anything for you.”

Hux closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose, hugging Ben tighter and holding back tears through sheer force of will. All this time, and he still couldn’t cry in front of people well, even when it was because of joy instead of humiliation, pain, or terror like it had been for years and years before.

Ren shuddered against him and Hux inhaled sharply when he felt hot drops hit his neck from Ben’s eyes.

Hux’s mind flew through possibilities and settled on one solution. “Are those…?”

“Yeah, sorry, still in your head.” Ben swiped a hand across his face, wiping the tears couldn’t bring himself to cry off his own face.

Hux scooped Ben’s face up in both his hands and kissed him roughly. “You,” he said, before breaking off for another fervent kiss. He had to pepper his words between his kisses. He needed Ben to know this, but also needed to kiss him, and both needs warred with each other as Hux tried to indulge them both. “You are the fiercest most vulnerable thing that has ever happened to me, and…” He kissed Ren long, not sure what he wanted to say next. He never thought it would be like this? He never knew that Ren being in his head and crying his tears for him would make him feel so safe? Those same tears finally prickled their way to the corners of his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. Maybe what he needed to say was that he had never dreamed he could be this happy. That in all his grand machinations of an ordered Galaxy, he had never considered joy—only safety.

How to say all of this at once?

Hux pulled back, the urgency of his kisses gone as he gently traced Ben’s lips with his own. “…I love you,” he murmured, finally.

Ben smiled and hummed that sweet, soft laugh of his, nudging Hux gently with the gargantuan nose that Hux loved so much. “I know.”

Hux felt himself blush. They had never used these words before, and the first time he did Ben had to say something like that? He promptly pulled Ben’s hair over his face, both to hide his blush from the other man’s eyes and as vengeance for making him blush in the first place. “Here I am, opening myself up for you, and you get smart with me!?”

Ben laughed—for real, long and loud and full with his head throw back, big enough to fill the tent. “Heard my dad say it once. Thought it was cool.” He smoothed his hair back into place and then gave Hux a warm look. His eyes could have melted any heart in the galaxy. “But regardless, I love you too, Armitage.”

He nuzzled closer. Hux allowed it, but took a few light kisses from Ben’s lips as tax first. “It hardly sounds like as much of a revelation as when I said it,” he grumbled.

Ben stroked Hux’s back apologetically and hummed an acknowledgment. “Sure, but do you think I would have climbed all those trees and heckled with all those people and learned how to make all this food if I didn’t already know that I loved you?”

Hux frowned, the gears of his mind turning. When had Ben known? How had he figured it out? And… “Why didn’t you tell me?” Hux asked, twisting a lock of Ben’s hair between his fingers gently.

Ben leaned back in the chair with a sigh. His eyes flicked away and then back up to Hux’s.

Hux could have looked into those eyes forever—kind, warm, and full of love. How had he missed it there before?

“I didn’t want to scare you.”

“ _Scare_ me?!”

Ben held up a hand. “Joy is… Not something either of us are used to. It’s… heavy. Startling. Easy to run from because now you have something to lose. I… I almost gave in to that. Earlier. Before. During our last stand. I thought it might be easier to die having helped save the galaxy than stick around to try and rebuild it—rebuild… me.”

“Ben Solo, if you’re telling me you contemplated suicide as an alternative to—”

Ben silenced him with a finger placed gently to his lips. Then he smiled gently and shook his head. “No, not suicide. Just… letting go. Letting the struggle end. I’m lucky Rey was there to save me from those thoughts. She went into my mind and showed me things—things that other parts of me were convinced were worth living for.” His eyes wandered over Hux’s face as he cupped it gently with one of his massive hands. Hux leaned into it, startled by the inexorable weight and seriousness of the gesture. Ben’s eyes settled on Hux’s once more, and his cheeks flushed gently as he admitted, “She showed me you, Armie.”

Hux clasped his hand over Ben’s, holding it even closer to him. “I forgive her every accidental bedroom trespass she’s ever made.”

Ben hummed a short laugh, but it was clipped, sad.

Hux pressed a kiss to Ben’s palm before pressing it back to his face and shutting his eyes with a grimace. He wished he could bring back the joy from the earlier moments of the evening.

“Don’t worry.” Ben passed his thumb back and forth over Hux’s cheek. “We’ll have plenty of joyful moments.” He moved in and kissed Hux resolutely, then pressed his forehead to Hux’s and grinned at him. “Even this one is good.”

Hux smirked, snorting through his nose. “It will be, as soon as you get me out of these clothes and into bed.”

“Mmm, up for round two already?”

“I was thinking of ‘going to bed’ in more of the cuddling and sleeping variety than the ‘let’s get to more banging’ one.”

“Hmm, well, lucky for you…” Ben reached back towards the table and picked up an insulated thermos. “I have one more meal-time surprise.”

“Oh stars, there’s more?”

Ben grinned. “Remember that terrible synthetic stimulant drink you were always drinking back in the First Order?”

Hux made a disgusted face and nodded.

Ben’s grin grew. He palmed the thermos back and forth between his hands promisingly. “What if I were to tell you there was a natural version, and it tasted as bitter, dark, and delicious as you always dreamed that unfortunate supplement could be?”

Hux hummed with intrigue, moving the two small metal cups they’d had yet to use from the center of the table to the edge for Ben to pour more easily. “And I suppose you’re going to tell me it’s also some sort of aphrodisiac as well?”

Ben bit his lip, still grinning, his eyes glinting mischievously in the soft lamplight of the tent.

Hux felt his eyebrows raise with disbelief. “You’re joking.”

Ben opened the thermos and poured, filling the cup closest to Hux. “Care to find out?”

Hux scoffed, then froze. Memories of the way Ben had come home flushed and wanting over the last three weeks washed through his mind, starting as a trickle and turning into a flood as Hux put the pieces together. It didn’t necessarily meant Ben was telling the truth about the drink being an aphrodisiac, but…

He cleared his throat and pulled at his collar. Was it suddenly much warmer in their little tent, or was it just him? “How many weeks did you say you’d been planning this?”

Ben smirked, the look in his eyes telling Hux everything he needed to know. “You got the timing right.” He pushed the cup a little closer to Hux. “Still want to call me on my bluff?”

Hux lifted the cup, an excited trill running up through his stomach. Then he eyed the other empty one. “What about you?”

Ben stuck out his tongue. “It’s too bitter for me straight.” He gave Hux a dreamy look. “Perfect for your horrible palate, though.”

“Since you’ve been benefitting due to my ‘horrible palate’ all night, I’ll forgive you this insult, and your poor taste in caffeinated beverages. But I’ll play along.” Hux raised the cup towards Ben in a toast. “Cheers, love.” He blew on the steaming beverage to cool it, and then took a sip.

The beverage was hot, aromatic, and strong. Hux sighed happily, leaning back into the circle of Ben’s arms. Ben chased him with a satisfied hum, dropping kisses wherever his lips could reach.

“You’re a wonder, Armie,” he murmured between kisses.

Hux hooked and arm contentedly around Ben’s neck and made a small noise of acknowledgment. “Do tell me what has inspired saying so this time.”

Ben pointed to the cup in Hux’s hand. “That stuff is vile by itself.”

Hux rolled his eyes. ““Allegedly vile. It simply takes taste to enjoy, dear.”

Ben rolled his eyes comically back. He wasn’t very good at such comical gestures yet, but Hux appreciated the effort. “That’s what I’m saying. I like the smell, but in your mouth, this stuff tastes like how it smells.”

Hux circled the liquid in the cup like it was fine wine and wafted the air above it towards Ben. Ben closed his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nose. He let the breath out with a contented sigh. “See? Chocolate, currants, a woody and burned quality that’s mysteriously alluring…”

He opened his eyes and licked his lips slowly for Hux.

Hux couldn’t resist that tongue. He leaned in and slid his against Ben’s.

Ben made a surprised noise and pushed forward, deepening the kiss. Hux put his cup down to keep from spilling and held on for dear life as Ben ravaged his mouth, panting when Ben finally pulled away.

“Even the aftertaste tastes good on you…” Ben said.

Hux nipped the other man’s lip, a tiny chastisement. “I’m not sure if it’s the caff or the kissing that’s making me hot for you all over again, darling.”

Ben grinned. “We’ll have to do a control test. And then another when I inevitably can’t resist you. And another. And another.”

Hux laughed and Ben nuzzled his neck. “Let me finish this cup before it gets cold.” He raised the cup once more and took another long sip, reveling in the deep rich flavor of the drink. He eyed the other empty cup suspiciously. “If you can’t stand this stuff, why did you have two cups?” His eyebrows twitched together hurriedly. “You weren’t going to inflict the horrible way it tastes for you on me, were you?”

Ben placed his hand on his chest and gave Hux a look of mock horror. It was an overly dramatic gesture, but not the first time Hux was pleased by the melodrama of something Ben did since they’d finished with the First Order. He’d never gotten to see this playful, silly side of Ben when they had been working together then—only the sad, tormented, lonely sides—and the temper tantrums. He traced Ben’s temple with his free hand as Ben said, “Me? Never.”

Hux shook his head fondly, the furrow between his brows gone. “What was it then, love?”

“To show you what it tastes like for me when I add all the sweeteners that make it palatable to normal people.”

Hux’s frown returned and he darted his eyes back to the table, searching for the offending sweeteners. He groaned when he saw a sugar bowl and a small pitcher of cream. “Please tell me you’re not going to dilute half of your cup with that awful stuff.”

Ben took Hux’s hand in his and kissed each of his fingertips in quick succession. “You must already be too sweet to be able to take anymore sugar, babe.”

Hux looked away and finished off the last sip of his drink to hide his smile. “Don’t go comparing me to that overly sweet crystalline nonsense.”

Ben chuckled and took a cube of sugar from the bowl. He placed it in the spare cup and then poured a bit of cream over it. “Sugar doesn’t make everyone’s brains buzzy and unfocused like it does for you when you’ve had too much, Armie.” He poured some of the steaming brown caff over the cream and sugar, the color changing instantly to a milky tan from the strong deep black-brown it had been before. “Besides…” Ben lifted one of the small spoons they’d used for their sorbet earlier and stirred everything together. “Some of us like the taste.” He set the spoon aside and lifted the cup for himself. He winked when Hux gave him a mock disapproving stare. “Ready?”

Hux sighed with indulgence and set his cup aside. “Go on, then.”

Ben tipped his cup towards his mouth and took a sip.

A mellow, creamy and lightly sweet flavor overtook Hux’s mouth. It was as if Ben had mixed the softness of Arkansis’s rainclouds into the drink and sprinkled it with the sweet glint of starlight. Through it all, the sharp astringency of the caff cut through, articulating each sip like the movements of a symphony.

Ben hummed and set his empty cup aside and then traced Hux’s lips with his thumb. “You sure get poetic about your stimulants.”

“Shut up. Get out of my head,” Hux murmured. He wasn’t sure when he’d shut his eyes, but it felt like it brought him closer to the taste Ben was sharing with him.

“You really want me to?”

“Absolutely not, don’t you dare.” Little sparks of sweetness still danced over Hux’s tongue as the acid bite of the caff drained away down his throat. The sweet monstrosity that had been in Ben’s cup never would have been this palatable in his own mouth. “Your sweet tooth is a blessed terror.”

Ben smirked, his eyes soft and happy. “Wanna see if it’s as good with my sugar-soaked tongue up against yours?”

Hux felt his mouth water. He nodded so he wouldn’t trip over his words.

The taste really was milder, licking the remains of it from Ben’s mouth.

Stars, had kissing always been this good? Hux felt like he could spend a millennia just touching Ben and sucking on his tongue.

“Mm, now that’s the caff,” Ben murmured when Hux pulled away to catch his breath. He ran his fingers over the exposed skin of Hux’s wrist. The trail they left made Hux feel like his skin was on fire.

Hux shivered and watched Ben, suspicious. “You knew it would sneak up on us like this…”

Ben didn’t react except for a small increase in the breadth of his smile. He poured Hux another cup of black caff, and then refreshed his own cup as well. “I told you I’ve eaten this meal a bunch of times getting it ready for you.” The sugar and cream swirled in the cup as he stirred them together.

Even that seemed like a euphemism in Hux’s current state of mind.

“Guess it was the caff that had you all over me these past three weeks then…” He took the cup Ben handed to him.

Ben smirked and lifted is own. “Like I need an excuse.”

For a moment, they just looked at each other over the rims of their cups, gentle smiles and warm eyes. Hux opened his mouth and smoothed the comfortable silence away. “I want to drink this indulgently, just smooth languid sips, silence, and you. Then… I want you to take me to bed and give me a taste of what it feels like for you when you’re sucking me off.”

Ben’s eyes positively sparkled. “I like the sound of that.”

“Good.” Hux toasted Ben with his cup. “To getting to intermingle on a new level then, my love.”

Ben returned the toast and lifted his cup to his lips.

They found a strange rhythm of sips, beginning together and then slowly moving apart until they were trading sips, before coming back together and sipping in unison once more. So many thoughts, feelings, and flavors drifted through Hux’s mind. It was like he was lost in a galaxy of stimuli, all of it his and not his at once.

The cups drained, Ben lifted Hux by the waist and balanced him gently on his shoulder. Hux hummed and worked his fingers down the back of Ben’s shirt while Ben guided Hux’s pants over his ankles. Ben stood and kicked his own trousers off and Hux’s fingers slid under the waistband of his briefs to knead at Ben’s buttocks. Ben laughed and then hooked his finger into the undergarment, pulling a small miracle of a balancing act to get them to follow his pants to the floor. Hux suspected there may have been a small amount of Force trickery at play keeping them upright. He felt like bubbles in a flute of champagne, like something small and buoyant following the current of the universe. He laughed as Ben knelt over their bedroll and threw him down into it with careful force—just enough to make Hux bounce pleasantly against the pillows before rising up to meet the warm skin of Ben’s body. Ben guided Hux’s arms out of his vest just in time for Hux to impatiently remove his shirt, pulling it up over his head and throwing it off into the shadowy corner of the tent. His impatient fingers returned to Ben’s chest, one pushing Ben’s shirt from his shoulder while the other squeezed one of Ben’s voluminous pectorals. Ben exposed his throat, his head sliding backwards as Hux’s fingers pinched and kneaded at him. There was more precarious balancing as Ben threaded his arms out of his sleeves and let it fall off of him to the side.

Finally, he leaned back down to touch his lips to Hux’s.

The heady feeling of being everything and nothing intensified as Ben’s tongue tangled with his. They tasted like caff and fruit and sex. They tasted like warm skin and held breath. Like the rain on Arkansis, starlight through a slow moving pane of transparisteel.

Ben broke away like a man gasping for the last of the oxygen in his life support system.

Hux whined and clung to him, trying to bring Ben’s mouth back to his. Ben shook his head and held a hand between them, stopping Hux’s mouth as it rose to try and meet his. “We’re both going to come from kissing if you don’t stop and let me go down on you, Armie.”

Right. Priorities. He’d wanted something far greater than this.

But, stars, he couldn’t imagine anything better than this.

Ben chuckled and pushed Hux back into their pillows. Hux held onto Ben’s shoulders until the distance was too great and then flopped back into the bed with a petulant huff. Just because he wanted Ben’s mouth on him in other places didn’t mean he couldn’t still be cross about losing it for now.

Ben smiled, like he’d heard the thought, and dropped his mouth to Hux’s neck apologetically. “Promise it’ll be worth it,” he murmured, then proceeded to kiss all the way down Hux’s torso. Hux hummed and stretched as Ben’s mouth crossed over his stomach. He felt full and vulnerable and safe—the blend of danger and knowing nothing would come of it.

There was a word for that wasn’t there?

_Trust._

Hux shot his eyes down to Ben’s to see the other man looking up at him, poised over Hux’s erection, love in his eyes.

Hux smiled. “Yes, that’s it,” he said. He reached down and stroked Ben’s cheek, silently thanking him for supplying the word. Then he took a deep breath in and reclined back on their pillows once more. “I trust you, Ben Solo.”

Somehow, that seemed to strike them both even harder that the words “I love you” had.

Ben was on him in an instant, pulling Hux hard and deep into his mouth. Hux gasped sharply at the intensity of the feeling, then moaned at the warm feelings wafting up to him from Ben’s mind—no, his heart. To this man, he was the twin suns of Tatoinne, the endless moons of Yavin, and the sky full of the constellations on his home of Chandrila; the ones he’d looked at up when he had been young and full of hope, wonder, dreams… Hux’s throat closed up and more tears gathered at the corners of his eyes, even as Ben brought him closer to ecstasy.

_You make me feel like that now._

Hux came with a shout. Ben’s strong hands kept him from bucking up into the other man’s mouth and choking him by accident, but oh, how Hux loved struggling against them. There was something calming in the pressure of hands like Ben’s, of being confined and manipulated by someone who loved him like Ben loved him, without wanting to cut anything off or mold him—just to caress the edges and keep them in place.

Hux’s cries ebbed off as the aftershocks of his orgasm rippled over him. He was so heavy, his body tired while his mind was crystal clear and refreshed. He rallied the energy to stroke Ben’s hair as the other man rested against his stomach, panting gently with slow deep gusts of warm air.

“Thank you.”

Hux felt Ben shake his head against his stomach. “You know the pleasure was mine.” He groaned and pushed himself up onto all fours, then climbed back up to Hux’s level. “Speaking of, we’ll need to wash the comforter tomorrow. That was a bit more than I was expecting, and… well.” He threw himself down next to Hux and pulled him against the great span of his chest before gesturing downward to a large damp spot of the foot of their comforter.

Hux laughed and tucked his nose against the curve of Ben’s neck. “Stars, I was too overwhelmed to even keep track… But, wait...” He peeked up at Ben quizzically. “Both of your hands were on me, the whole time…”

The color of Ben’s cheeks deepened, and his features turned suddenly bashful. Hux laughed harder and kissed him.

“Listen,” Ben said. “You’re a lot.”

“Mm, I’ll have to see if my adoration of you can get me to orgasm untouched next time as well.”

Ben’s flush only got worse, but Hux couldn’t find it within himself to be sorry for the man. They were lucky they’d made it out the other side of the First Order, that they’d found each other despite everything that was between them. A little embarrassment over how much they meant to each other and their weird sex play was something he was sure Ben could handle.

That faith only grew as Ben pulled him back in for another kiss.

If there was one thing Hux was happy he could trust, it was that they would both always be hungry for more of this—of each other.

A future like that was a bright one indeed—and sure to be full of tender moments and morsels.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this and want to read more, check out more of my work [here!](http://ashenpages.tumblr.com/myfanfiction)
> 
> You can also find me on [Tumblr](http://ashenpages.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ashenpages).
> 
> Please feel free to come by and chat! Always lovely to hearing from fans!


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